IMG SOLD TO RIVAL WILLIAM MORRIS FOR $2.3 BILLION

By Darren Rovell | ESPN.com

Private investment firm Forstmann Little has agreed to sell sports, entertainment and fashion agency IMG to competitor William Morris Endeavor and its financial backer, Silver Lake Partners. The price of the sale was not disclosed, but one insider said the deal will be worth about $2.3 billion.
The sale could have massive ramifications in the areas of athlete representation and marketing, depending on how WME is able to adjust to the sports world, in which it currently has relatively little stake.
With the acquisition, WME -- which makes its money primarily in the Hollywood and music representation businesses -- has a chance to pick up athlete clients, although IMG's business is no longer as driven by the fate of athlete contracts and endorsements as it once was. 
In the past decade under Forstmann, IMG let contract agents for (American) football, basketball, baseball and hockey players go, as the margins on contract commissions thinned and the cost to acquire and retain clients grew. 
IMG did retain a marketing division that represents quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford and Cam Newton for endorsement deals.
What remained was a robust golf business that represents the likes of Luke Donald, Ernie Els, K J Choi, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Anthony Kim, Vijay Singh, Yani Tseng and Paula Creamer, and a tennis business that represents Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and Li Na as well as broadcaster brothers John and Patrick McEnroe. 
WME already markets for Serena Williams, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. It also represents commentators including Andy Roddick, Ray Lewis, Michael Strahan and Dan Marino.
The deal was spearheaded by super-agent Ari Emanuel, whose life was imitated with the character of Ari Gold in HBO's "Entourage." Emanuel famously left Hollywood agency ICM in the mid-1990s to form Endeavor, which grew even larger in 2009 when the firm merged with William Morris.
While WME continued to focus on Hollywood and music with clients that included Steven Spielberg, Adele, Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars and John Legend, Emanuel and co-CEO Patrick Whitesell were tempted by the sports world in recent years. 
IMG, meanwhile, represents Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake, and its modeling division has Kate Upton, Chrissy Teigen and Christie Brinkley as clients. In the golfing world, its most recent addition to the IMG stable was Lydia Ko.
The ever-competitive Emanuel had two significant moments in sports in which he exerted his power, although neither worked out particular well.
It was Emanuel's idea to turn LeBron James' free agency choice in 2010 into the "The Decision," an hour-long show that aired on ESPN. Emanuel's team orchestrated the show even though James' contract was done by Emanuel's main competitor, Creative Artists Agency, and James' business manager Maverick Carter was working out of IMG's headquarters in Cleveland.
While the fallout from the critically panned show hit James maybe the hardest, Emanuel immediately defended the idea days later.
"Everybody can say what they want -- it was the wrong decision, there was too much hoopla, whatever -- but for me, it was about doing the event, getting the advertisers to participate and doing it for charity," Emanuel told Ad Age at the time.
The second big move made by Emanuel and his WME team was winning Tim Tebow's marketing rights in March 2012 even though Tebow's contract agents were his competitors at CAA.
WME convinced Tebow at the time that he was one of the most marketable celebrities on college campuses across the country, so Tebow passed up overtures to be repped by CAA for marketing purposes. 
Of course, the rest is history. Tebow barely played for the New York Jets in 2012 and was cut by the New England Patriots before the 2013 season. He eventually fired WME and hired CAA for his off-the-field work.
While this acquisition might be Emanuel's biggest power play yet, many insiders wonder how it makes much sense considering WME isn't adept in businesses that make IMG the most money. IMG is the largest independent producer of sports programming in the world, putting together more than 21,000 hours of television and more than 30,000 hours of radio per year. 
Its biggest growth engine is its college business, which through licensing, marketing and ticketing contracts with the majority of the BCS conference schools, generated $483 million in 2013, the company said.
Over the past couple of years, CAA has turned into the biggest force in the sports representation world, partly by acquiring many of IMG's athlete representation businesses, including football, as well as growing an extensive division that represented sports broadcasters.
IMG was founded by the late Mark McCormack in 1960 after he signed his first client, Arnold Palmer. The company was purchased by Forstmann Little in 2004 for $750 million. Ted Forstmann, who led the acquisition at the time, died in 2011.

DAVID MOIR'S MY GOLF RANKINGS AT DECEMBER 20

MyGolfRanking International, 20 December 2013:
1 Toni McDonagh (Fortwilliam, Northern Ireland) 1217pts
2 Scott Hunter (Tillicoultry) 1185
3 Alastair Wastson (Langlands) 1175
4 Craig Meeks (Thornton) 1157
5 Jo Elson (Aqualate) 1143
6 Lewis Blyth (Prestonfield) 1133
7 Adam Jobes (Seacroft) 1129
8 Gary Barclay (Torrance Park) 1125
9 Conal Duffy (Fortwilliam, Northern Ireland) 1123
10 Roger Leslie (Spey Bay) 1105
11 Ricky McNeill (Dunnikier Park) 1102, 12 Douglas Taylor (Dunfermline) 1100, 13 Ian Gorn (Aberdour) 1092, 14 Kevin Wood (Prestonfield) 1085, 15 Daniel Alexander (Kingsknowe) 1075, 16 Alex McKenzie (Lothianburn) 1061, T17 Graeme Cox (Drumoig) 1058, Jack Owens (Bangor, NI) 1058, Jim Rice (Aberdour) 1058, 20 Paul Page (Kingsknowe) 1056
21 John Douglas (Leven Thistle) 1055, 22 John Cowan (Ayr Carrick) 1050, 23 John Boag (Blairgowrie) 1048, 24= Greig Denton (Balfron) 1043, Laura McGeachy (Windyhill) 1043.

For up-to-date ranking lists of participating clubs, the full Regional, National and International Rankings and how it works, visit www.mygolfranking.net.

The MyGolfRanking service is free to clubs and members. Clubs wishing to participate should register on www.mygolfranking.net or email info@mygolfranking.net for information.

 

This week’s MyGolfRanking Golfer of the Week is Scott Hunter of Tillicoultry Golf Club. Scott jumps back to No 2 in the MyGolfRanking International Ranking.                          

The MyGolfRanking Club of the Week is every participating club. Hope you all enjoyed your year of MyGolfRanking, have a very guid Christmas and may your MGRanking reach unprecedented heights in 2014.

MyGolfRanking Men, 22 December 2013:
1 Scott Hunter (Tillicoultry) 1185 pts
2 Alastair Wastson (Langlands) 1175
3 Craig Meeks (Thornton) 1157
4 Lewis Blyth (Prestonfield) 1133
5 Adam Jobes (Seacroft) 1129
6 Gary Barclay (Torrance Park) 1125
7 Roger Leslie (Spey Bay) 1105
8 Ricky McNeill (Dunnikier Park) 1102
9 Douglas Taylor (Dunfermline) 1100
10 Ian Gorn (Aberdour) 1092.

MyGolfRanking Women, 22 December 2013: 
1 Toni McDonagh (Fortwilliam, Northern Ireland) 1217pts
2 Jo Elson (Aqualate) 1143
3 Laura McGeachy (Windyhill) 1043
4 Emily Aird (Blairgowrie) 1010
5 Mary Carragher (Arrowe Park) 1006
6 Rosemary Macintyre (Fort William) 1000
7 Susan Baldwin (Scotscraig) 996
8 Pat Magill (Newton Stewart) 981
9 Hilary Brown (Scotscraig) 979
10 Josie Cooper (Aqualate) 975.

MyGolfRanking Clubs, 22 December 2013:  
1 Fortwilliam, Northern Ireland 972pts
2 Kingsknowe 879
3 Prestonfield 871
4 Dunfermline 868
5 Blairgowrie 861
6 Aberdour 859
7 Awali 856

T8 Alyth 844
T8 Milngavie 844
10 Falkirk Tryst 840.

David Moir

in LEAGUE with GOLF Ltd

info@mygolfranking.net

TEAM EUROPE TURN TABLES ON ASIA WITH FINAL-DAY SURGE TO WIN ROYAL TROPHY MATCH IN CHINA

                                                 AND THE WINNERS ARE .... EUROPE!

It was Medinah Revisited for skipper Jose Maria Olazabal as Team Europe staged a stunning revival from a 7-3 deficit to beat Asia 8 1/2-7 1/2 to win the three-day Royal Trophy match at Dragon Lake Golf Club at Guangzhou in China today.
When Scots Paul Lawrie (beaten 3 and 2 by Thai Kiradech Aphibamrat) and Stephen Gallacher (beaten 4 and 2 by another Thai, Thongchai Jaidee) lost their ties for the third day in a row, Asia had extended their overnight lead from 5-3 to 7-3 and needed only 1 1/2pt from the remaining six singles to retain the trophy.
But Europe won five of them and halved the other.
Asia were stunned by Europe as Marc Warren, the third Scot in the line-up, David Howell, Thorbjorn Olesen, Bernd Wiesberger and Nicolas Colsaerts all won their encounters to complete a remarkable turnaround, with Alvaro Quiros three-putting the 18th hole to allow Kim Kyung-Tae to escape with a halved match.
Ryo Ishikawa, who was beaten on the 18th green by Warren, produced his usual cavalier brand of golf, mixing moments of breathtaking brilliance with some careless errors, but that made this one of the most exciting clashes for the spectators to enjoy.
But Ishikawa, who had been two up on the eighth tee, shanked his chip from the back of the green. Unable to hole his long putt for par, Ishikawa left Warren two putts to win the hole and the match.
The Scot sent his first putt racing five feet past the hole, but he steadied himself and made the one coming back to register Europe’s first point in the Singles.
Ishikawa’s defeat prefigured what was to happen to Kim Hyoung-sung. Dark clouds had begun to form above Team Asia.
David Howell of England produced perhaps the greatest comeback yet in the seven editions of the Royal Trophy. Kim Hyoung-sung led Howell by three with four holes to go.
But Howell won every one of them, to then somehow claim a priceless point for the Europeans. There was no sign of the drama to come as Kim, the runner-up on the Japan Golf Tour’s Order of Merit this year, golfed flawlessly to cover the first 14 holes in five under par.
Howell suddenly began casting magic around the greens, that other-worldly touch that propelled him into the top ten of the world rankings a few years ago, and which brought him a morale-boosting victory in the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in September.
He conjured up winning birdies at the 15th and 16th holes and then produced a magical up and down from a greenside bunker to clinch victory, as Kim stumbled to three bogeys over the final four holes.
The rush stopped partly as K T Kim halved with Alvaro Quiros, but Europe quickly got a move on again as rising star Thorbjorn Olesen saw off Wu Asham with two holes to spare.
Bernd Wiesberger then notched four birdies between the 10th and 15th holes to earn a 3 and 2 win over Hiroyuki Fujita after they had reached the halfway stage level.
It became clear that the trophy would be decided by the winner of the last match, between Colsaerts and Liang Wen-chong.
The Belgian edged ahead and then twice recovered as his opponents nipped in front, before taking the lead again with three holes left.
Liang then had a 15-footer to level on 16 but missed, before he messed up an approach on the 17th.
He needed a 30-footer to take the match to the last hole but he three-putted and Colsaerts took full advantage.

FINAL RESULT:
ASIA 7 1/2, TEAM EUROPE 8 1/2
LAST-DAY SINGLES (2 1/2-5 1/2)
Asia Team names first
Kiradech Aphibamrat bt Paul Lawrie 3 and 2.
Thongchai Jaidee bt Stephen Gallacher 4 and 2.
Ryo Ishikawa lost to Marc Warren 1 hole.
Kim Kyung Tae halved with Alvaro Quiros.
Kim Hyoung-sung lost to David Howell 1 hole.
Wu Asham lost to Thorbjorn Olesen 3 and 2.
Hiroyuki Fujita lost to Bernd Wiesberger 3 and 2.
Liang Wen-chong lost to Nicolas Colsaerts 2 and 1.

PGA'S HUGE DONATION TO GOLF FOUNDATION FOR GRASS-ROOTS WORK

 The PGA has presented the Golf Foundation with a cheque for £95,000 to underline its support for growing the game at grass roots level.

TIGER FANCIES HIS CHANCE OF REPEAT OPEN WIN AT HOYLAKE IN 2014

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By BILL ZIMMERMAN
Buried in a blog post about his outlook for 2014, Tiger Woods offered a little insight into his mindset about his golf game these days: he tries to "tone everything down" and "play within myself."
Taking a look at his off-season, Woods was writing about the upcoming winter Olympics for which his girlfriend, skiier Lindsey Vonn, is preparing to compete. He noted some similarities and differences in their athletic careers.

"We both work very hard and are prepared for our seasons. And when we're ready to go, we give it everything we possibly have and there's no holding back. I think that's some of our commonalities," Woods wrote. "But she has to be way more aggressive in her sport than I have to be in mine. You're trying to make your way down a mountain at 80-plus mph, and you have to have the adrenaline and the aggressiveness to do it. But for me, I'm trying to tone everything down mentally. I'm trying to play within myself and do all the little things."
It's perhaps a departure from his often aggressive style of play, but it doesn't mean for a minute that his trademark confidence has changed. 
Combine Woods' self-assurance with the fact he regained the No. 1 world ranking this year and it should come as no surprise that he is expressing optimism about 2014.
"I thought I was pretty consistent throughout the year, starting off at Torrey Pines and ending on a positive note at Sherwood, where I finished second to Zach," Woods posted in a blog on his website. "I think my body of work overall for the whole year was pretty good."
The blank spot in Woods' list of 2013 accomplishments was in trying to win a major. It's no secret he's out to catch Jack Nicklaus in career major victories, but has been stuck four behind the Golden Bear for five years.
"I'm really excited about the major championships next year. I've won at three of the four venues – Augusta National, Valhalla Golf Club and Royal Liverpool -- and on Pinehurst No. 2 (U.S. Open), I'm trending the right way, having finished third and second," Woods said.
Woods had opened his post by giving thanks to those involved in his 2013 Northwestern Mutual World Challenge this month, in which he shot 62 and finished second to Zach Johnson – who, Woods pointed out, rose to No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking with the win.
"First, I want to thank everyone who has been involved with our World Challenge event as we celebrated our 15th and last year at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.," Woods wrote. "The board and members at Sherwood have been great to us over the years. I also want to thank all of the sponsors, volunteers and amazing fans that came out through the years, whether it was perfect sunshine, rain, cold or wind. 
"I'm grateful to all of you for supporting us because the World Challenge helped build our Tiger Woods Learning Centrein Anaheim, California. It got us the equity we needed to build a tremendous facility that has served more than 100,000 students since 2006.
"When we first started the tournament, it was a fun challenge-season event. The small field had a great time, and the event raised funds for my foundation. Now it's grown into something more serious because of the World Ranking points involved, and we are getting more of the top players to play because of that."
Other topics Woods touched on:
• Architecture: "My newest golf course project, El Cardonal at Diamante Cabo San Lucas, is coming along well. I recently made a visit there and was pleased with the progress. It was great to see grass going down on the front nine and shaping happening on the back nine. I'm excited about how it's turning out."
• Equipment: "I also found a new Nike driver, VRS Covert 2.0 Tour, that I'm really excited about. I drove the ball a little further and definitely straighter than I have been all year."
• Moving the World Challenge: "Next year, I'm excited to partner with Tavistock to move the World Challenge to Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla. I've played there hundreds of times and lived there for about 16 years. It's an awesome golf course, probably one of the toughest in the state.
"I think moving there is going to be fantastic for many reasons. It's a great opportunity to grow the tournament and my partnership with Joe Lewis and Tavistock. 
"Also, the international golf calendar has changed a lot over the last few years, and there is more pressure on a player's schedule. So many top players are based on the East Coast, and that makes a tremendous difference in getting a quality field in December. The format will stay exactly the same: 72 holes of stroke play, and my foundation will continue to operate the event."
• Taking a break: "I'm going to put my clubs away for a while to spend more time with my kids and support my girlfriend Lindsey Vonn as she tries to prepare for the Sochi Olympics. Having experienced reconstructive surgery on my knee and the ensuing rehab, and the amount of pain associated with it, it's really hard to explain to anybody unless you've been through it.
 And then coming back on it athletically, to trust that it's going to be there, that's a whole different ballgame. I've had my share of experiences in that regard – unfortunately – but I think it helps her in a sense because she can bounce ideas off me about what to expect. It is a frustrating process and really difficult to go through."
• Stanford (American football): "What Coach Shaw has done with that program . . . it's top-notch. It's not easy to recruit players with intellect and athletic ability, but he has been able to do it. He's done a helluva job, and it just goes to show you that you can do both. 
"We keep winning that Directors' Cup every year, and I think that's a testament that you can be a great athlete and can have a high academic standard as well. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the Rose Bowl, but I already have a place picked out to watch it."